


The Matchmaker

by harmonypon



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Ernest Greeves - Freeform, F/M, Katnest, Katrielle Layton - Freeform, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Thriller, Violence, ernestgreeves, hurtfic, i’m too scared to write graphic non-con because it’s too upsetting, non-con neck kissing mostly, quite a bit of whump actually, slight non-con vibes but nothing too graphic, slight sexual content, slight whump, with a happy but bittersweet end!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmonypon/pseuds/harmonypon
Summary: Katrielle takes on a new case.A criminal that goes by the name 'The Matchmaker' is roaming the streets of London. Their main plan in their crimes is kidnapping innocent individuals and threatening to kill them if their supposed 'sweetheart' doesn't show up to rescue them.The case by itself is upsetting enough for Katrielle, considering the gruesome ends that these star-crossed lovers met, but when her assistant goes missing, things take a turn for the very worst.
Relationships: Ernest Greeves/Katrielle Layton
Comments: 26
Kudos: 47





	1. The Case

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! This is my first post on this site! I’m currently copy/pasting this story from my Wattpad account, so don’t be too perplexed as to why I’m uploading the chapters so fast. I hope you all enjoy!  
> -Harmony

"Kat, I don't know if I can put this on you. This case is more...intense...than a wafer clock hand. People have died, Kat."

"Inspector, I've dealt with murder before. Please don't underestimate me."

"Fine. Just... please be respectful when interviewing them, alright? They're broken. They've lost everything."

"Of course. Good luck on your side of the case, inspector."

Katrielle was met with a quick click on the other line as she set the phone down. She took a deep breath before regaining her usual chipper smile, her default 'professional' expression. It was 9:30 AM as of now, the early hours of the agency's opening time. Ernest should be in the agency's kitchen by now, preparing some tea.

Sherl was asleep on the main room's couch, snoring, yipping and growling in his slumber.

"Good morning , Sherl." Kat spoke. Sherl grumbled quietly before popping his head up, one of his floppy ears flipping over his head.

"Morning, Kat." He said tiredly.

Katrielle leaned over to straighten his long ear.

"Have you had breakfast?" She lifted his ear up and whispered, earning an annoyed bark from Sherl as he jerked away from her.

"Can't do that in my sleep, can I?" He said, free from her annoying touch.

"I beg to differ. I've done that plenty of times." Katrielle giggled a bit. Sherl huffed.

"You're more abnormal than a talking dog, Kat. You need to curve your habits."

"I'll consider that, Sherl." She chuckled.

"Ah, Good morning, Miss!" Ernest's voice rang as he opened the kitchen door with his hip, holding a tray of tea and

scones. Right on cue, just as Kat liked.

Katrielle smiled as she looked at him. "Good morning!" She chirped.

"Have you eaten?" She asked as she took a scone.

"Haha, of course, Miss!" Ernest set the tray down on the table in front of the couch.

"Perfect. I have some news." She said as she grabbed today's newspaper.

She unrolled the paper and revealed the front page of the paper to Ernest and Sherl.

"We'll be investigating this!" She grinned.

Ernest raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

"The Valentine's day sale at the bakeshop, Miss?" He asked in confusion.

Kat blinked and looked at the paper.

"Oh, how did that make front page? Hold on." She flipped through the pages.

"Ah, this." She held out the paper again to the other two and Sherl nodded.

"Ah, that seems more illegal."

"Indeed. Wait, murder?!" Ernest gasped.

"Murder indeed, Ernest." Katrielle nodded. "Specifically, The 'Star-Crossed' killings."

Ernest swallowed. "Star crossed killings, Miss?"

"Mm-hm!" Katrielle nodded. "A series of murders committed by 'The Matchmaker', a killer who abducts individuals who have had difficulties with their significant other. For instance, if a married couple had been arguing for sometime, The Matchmaker would kidnap the husband or wife. The Matchmaker seems to see it all as a game, sending tapes to the individual that contain threats that if the person doesn't rescue their lover, they will be left to rot after endless means of torture." Katrielle rolled up the paper as she explained. Sherl was wide-eyed as he listened, while Ernest looked distressed.

"Good God..." Ernest whispered. He seemed to be in horror.

"So... We'll be interviewing some victims today. Some kept the tapes, considering it has their lover's voice on them, so we'll be listening to those during the interviews." Katrielle said as she bit into another scone.

"That's...horrible..!" Ernest spoke up.

"A tragedy, repeated over and over again." Sherl mumbled.

Ernest stood up to pour a bit of tea into Katrielle's cup.

"We'll be leaving in half an hour, so prepare yourselves." Katrielle set a scone next to Sherl, who devoured it quickly.

—

Ernest knocked on the dark red door that lead into the small green house.

There was the sound of shuffling on the other side, like someone had been sitting close to the door. There was a clicking sound as a lock was turned, and a quiet creak as the door opened. Katrielle, holding her notebook to her chest, tilted her head to look in the small crack in the door.

"Mia Lavender?" She asked softly.

The short woman, in her forties, had short brown hair and green eyes with dark circles underneath. It looked like she hadn't slept in days, presumably because of the murder of her fiancé only days before.

"Yes." She croaked. Her voice was quiet and dry

"Hello. I'm Katrielle Layton. The police told you we were coming, I trust?"

"Yes." She spoke again.

"Lovely. May we come in?" Kat put on her soft smile.

The woman nodded, opening the door a bit more.

"Come in."

Mia lead them into her front room, where she sat on a loveseat by herself. The sight was heart-wrenching as she stayed on the left side of the seat and put her hand on the pillow on the right, as if the area where her lost love had once sat gave her strength.

Katrielle sat down on the couch with Ernest as Sherl sat quietly on the floor.

Mia swallowed. "We'd been fighting a lot." She started.

"Anyone in town could confirm it. We were bickering more and more. In the shops, on the streets..." she sounded regretful.

"I just...He came home so late every night... He never wanted to talk, or watch movies, or cuddle. I thought he was cheating." She covered her face.

"He kept postponing our wedding. I thought... I thought he was tired of me. So I just snipped and snipped at him. I got angry over the littlest things." She sobbed.

"He just wanted to make enough money for our wedding. He was working until his back broke just for me. Why am I so stupid?" Her crying was close to a wheeze, with her heaving breaths.

"If I'd just been more understanding and supportive, she wouldn't have taken him from me!" Her voice grew louder and Sherl flinched his ears.

Katrielle reached out her hand and gently set it over the crying woman's balled up fist that rested on the chair arm.

"Couples argue all the time, Mia. It truly isn't your fault." She spoke.

Mia hiccuped and tried to hold back the seemingly endless flow of her tears.

"Why would God let this happen..? I met him so late in life. We were going to be happy."

Katrielle held her hand supportively. "Breathe."

Mia took a deep breath and slowly straightened up.

"Do you... Do you want to hear the tape?" She asked.

"If you can handle it, Mia." Kat nodded.

Mia stood up and walked out of the room, soon coming back with a tape player. She sat down with it in her lap. She ejected the tape to show it to Ernest and Katrielle.

"It showed up on my front doorstep the day after Lucas went missing." She informed.

The tape had a label on it, simply reading 'From: The Matchmaker'.

Ernest shivered quietly as she put it back into the player and rewound the tape.

She hit play.

There was the sound of muffled panting and groans, supposedly from a man. The groans sounded tortured, the clear sound of fear and pain in his voice. There was a sudden gasp, as if whatever had been muffling his voice had been torn away.

A few moments of his panting.

"Talk, Lucas." A woman spoke. She sounded cold, yet excited.

"Mia.." he groaned weakly. The woman's voice giggled.

"Hear him, Mia? He's waiting for you. Let me give you a bit of information, sweetie. He's been loyal to you and only you. You must feel awful. Why don't you clean up your act and pick up your poor little baby? Unless, of course, you think he deserves...this."

There was a silence, before a panicked yell was heard from Lucas, followed by pained groaning and shrieking.

**“STOP! STOP IT! PLEASE, PLEASE! MIA, MIA ! I’M SORRY, MIA! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU, MIA! I’M SO SORRY!”**

His pleads and cries were almost drowned out by a metallic clang, followed by a crack and a final pained scream, followed by panting and whimpering.

Ernest covered his mouth, his eyes wide and teary. Sherl shook his head and put his paws over his ears, barking timidly.

Katrielle's face was drained of color, listening to the man's weak crying.

Mia was covering her face and sobbing.

Once the man's sobbing quieted down, the woman spoke again.

"Aww, didn't mean to break anything. Don't want that happening again, do you? You have thirty hours. Find me."

The tape stopped, the gears of the player going silent.

It took a long time to calm Mia down, who seemed to be reliving her first listen to the tape. She screamed and cried out Lucas's name, pulling at her hair. She'd accidentally shoved Ernest and sent him tumbling and that was when she snapped out of it and only cried quietly at the chaos she had caused. After half an hour of talking casually to calm down the mood, the trio left Mia's home.

—

They had been up and down london, interviewing twelve victims in total. A few new bits of information had been gathered.

The Matchmaker apparently plays her own 'game' unfair, sometimes. She'll kill a lover randomly and claim that an individual got a 'bad end' to her little story.

She'd sometimes threaten to keep the hostage all to herself, claiming that they were just her type.

Katrielle went from calm and chipper to calm and cold throughout the day. When they had gotten back to the agency, it was late at night.

"This is one of our more...intense cases, isn't it?" She said as she sat down on the couch.

"I'd have to agree." Ernest said, his voice quiet. Sherl flopped down into his bed, eyes wide. He remained silent.

For the next few days, Katrielle denied every other case that had been presented to her. She'd been talking with Inspector Hastings a lot over the phone, and she'd be focused on her theories and notes at her cluttered desk.

Ernest grew worried for her as she started to eat less, trying to concentrate more on the case.

"Miss." Ernest started, setting a croissant on her desk.

"Please eat. You need to take care of yourself." He said.

"Don't need any distractions." She said quietly, hunched over her desk.

"You can think and eat at the same time, Miss. Sherl and I are worried about you."

"You're not a detective, Ernest. You don't know my brain. I need to concentrate."

"Miss-"

"Miles." Katrielle stood up and yelled, staring daggers into his eyes. Ernest flinched and backed up a bit.

That name.

That awful name that she promised she'd never call him again.

Ernest swallowed a lump that crept into his throat and took a deep breath.

"I've...stayed here too late. I'm sorry, Miss." he said, looking at the clock.

"I should be heading home. I-I..." he stuttered and shook his head at his own words.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled as he rushed to the coat rack and grabbed his coat off the hook. He rushed out the door, and he was gone.

Sherl had been watching ever since Katrielle yelled. He looked to Kat with disapproval.

"Low, Kat.” The dog grumbled gravely. “Very low.”


	2. The Tape

Katrielle woke up. She sat up in her bed and sighed, rubbing her eyes.  
She groaned. She'd snapped at Ernest last night, hadn't she? How could she do something like that? The poor boy was only trying to care for her. She'd have to apologize to him once she arrived at the agency. She stretched with a squeak and hopped out of bed, preparing herself for her day.

—

Katrielle flipped the kickstand on her bike as she parked in the alley next to the agency. She retrieved the keys out of her pocket and walked to the door, her footsteps tapping on the sidewalk. She unlocked the door and opened it, stepping into her work.  
Sherl was sitting up in his small bed as if he had been waiting for her.

"Hello, Sherl." Katrielle shut the door softly.

"Kat." Sherl replied coldly.

Kat sighed and went to hang her coat and headband up.

"I hope you have a long apology written out for Pinstripes. That name is an insult to his loyalty to you, Kat." Sherl shook his head as he stood up.

"I know." Katrielle sounded ashamed. 

"Is he in the kitchen?" She asked.

"No. He hasn't shown up yet." Sherl responded.

Katrielle paused for a moment. That wasn't like Ernest at all. He was never late. Katrielle shook her head. 

"He's probably slept in. I made him stay up too late anyhow." 

Sherl grunted. 

"You know what? I can make tea. I can prepare something so he gets to relax. That might help." Katrielle said as she rushed to the kitchen and opened the door. Sherl seemed satisfied with her selflessness in the situation as he followed. 

Soon she walked back into the main room, opening the door with her hip just as Ernest had done. A nice pot of Chamomile with a selection of different biscuits.  
Now, she waited. She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. What would she say to him? 'I'm sorry.' would be in there, that was for sure. There would be a lot of that. There would definitely be some form of 'I appreciate all that you do.' in there.  
How long had she been thinking? She looked up at the clock and tapped her foot. Half-an-hour. He was half-an-hour late. He'd never done this before. 

"We have to see if he's alright." Katrielle said as she stood up and put some biscuits into a napkin. 

Sherl didn't question anything, seeming worried as well. They walked out of the agency and to the bike. Sherl hopped into the basket, and off they went down the streets. Down the sidewalks, right turn, down, left.  
Then they arrived. Kat dismounted her bike and Sherl tumbled out of the basket trying to get out. Katrielle made her way to Ernest's dorm, recognizing the address. She knocked three times.

"Ernest?" She spoke. No response, no sound of movement in the small house.

"Ernest?" She spoke once more, knocking again. Nothing. Her hand touched at the doorknob and a click sounded.  
The door wasn't locked. Katrielle inhaled before opening it further. 

"Ernest?" She called once more. "I'm coming in." 

She stepped in and Sherl slowly came in as well. Ernest's home was nothing fancy, though it was still very cozy. He kept everything very neat and tidy.  
Katrielle stepped into his kitchen. Clean. Nothing to report. She set the biscuits on the counter and turned to his stairway. 

"Ernest?" She called up. Silence. She sighed and went up the stairs hurriedly. 

His bedroom door was wide open, and the room was a mess. The bed sheets were scattered, a pillow was on the floor, and his bedside lamp was knocked over. Was this some sort of aftermath of a meltdown? Maybe Ernest was underneath the pile of blankets bunched up on his bed. He had to be. Katrielle quietly walked in, eying the blankets. 

"Ernest..?" She whispered. She grabbed the blankets and gently untangled them. No one was there.

Katrielle's heartbeat quickened as she ran out into the hallway and searched the other rooms, calling out her assistant's name.

She ran downstairs with Sherl. 

"He's got to be in town." She said breathlessly.

They took off on the bike again, riding to the shops. She quickly checked in on the little bakeshops, restaurants and grocery stores but Ernest was nowhere to be found. She biked back to the agency, praying that he had gone there while she was looking for him. Nobody was there. She was near frantic now, panting quietly as she biked to her own home. He wasn't there. 

Ernest was missing.

Katrielle was frantic as she alerted the authorities, requesting at least a small search party. The day went by torturously slow. Kat ended up going back to the agency midday, waiting for Ernest to show up. He never came. Someone else she knew showed up, though. 

Kat was sitting on the couch with Sherl in her lap when there was a knock at the door. She stood up slowly and made her way to the door. Opening it gently, she peeked out. 

"Emiliana?" Katrielle said in surprise. Straightening her glasses, Emiliana stood before her. 

"May I come in?" She asked, although her tone made it sound like a command. Katrielle mumbled and opened the door, letting her through.

"Did Inspector Hastings send you?" Kat asked. 

"He informed me of current events, but I came at my own free will." Emiliana said with her normal annoyed tone. Katrielle swallowed as she shut the door with shaky hands. 

Goodness, why was she like this? Usually she was calm but now she felt an empty feeling in her stomach and she felt as if her limbs would disconnect from her body.

"Katrielle." Emiliana spoke. "I'm well aware that you're worried about him." She said.

Katrielle stayed silent, sitting down.

"That's not just a guess, either. It's a fact. He means a lot to you." 

Katrielle felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Why are you stating the obvious, Emiliana? Are you trying to prove something?" She sounded unintentionally bitter.

"There was some chemistry there." Emiliana interjected. 

Katrielle grumbled. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to help you see your suspicion as a possibility, Katrielle. I believe that The Matchmaker could have something to do with it." Emiliana sat down next to her.

Katrielle's heart skipped a beat before she gritted her teeth. 

"No."

"Katrielle, you love him."

"They couldn't have taken him. Th-they-" Katrielle shook her head and covered her mouth.

"I was awful, how could they think we were an item? I obviously don't share the same feelings. I'm...I-" Katrielle tried to undo the clear logic.

"The Matchmaker meddles with couples that are problematic. Even if they didn't know you loved him, it was obvious Ernest has been pining after you." Emiliana retorted with more unbreakable logic.

"My theory is that The Matchmaker saw you two as the perfect game for unrequited love. Perfect for drama." 

"STOP." Katrielle looked to Emiliana with anger. "I DO NOT love hi-!" 

Emiliana quickly grabbed Katrielle into a stiff hug, obviously foreign to comfort.

"It is NOT your fault if he was taken. It's NOT your fault if you loved him." Emiliana seemed to be holding her hostage in such a tight grip. 

Katrielle growled and pushed her away. "You're wrong."

"Kat-"

"Please, just leave." She spoke quietly.

"I appreciate it Emiliana, but you're not helping."

"I am. You're just being too stubborn to see it." 

"Get. Out." Katrielle pointed to the door. Emiliana sighed and walked to it. 

With her back turned to Kat, Emilianna did a quick glance back at her. Her facial expression softened, if only just for a moment.

"Sending my strength." She said quietly before closing the door behind her with a quiet click.

Kat was alone with herself again.

After a bit of recovery, Kat went back out into town to search for Ernest once more before going home.  
No progress.  
She returned to her home and paced around her halls until finally going to bed. 

When she awoke the next morning, she had a hard time getting out of her bed. She still felt sick to her stomach. After around fifteen minutes of staring at the ceilings, she arose and continued with her morning routine. After breakfast, she opened her front door to bike to the agency, hoping that Ernest would show up and explain everything.

That's when she saw it.  
A little paper bag on her front step.  
She picked it up and examined it before opening it. Inside, there was a tape, with the simple label that she dreaded to see again.  
'From: The Matchmaker' 

Katrielle shook her head, whispering a weak 'No...'  
This had to be a nightmare. She put it back into the bag and rushed to her bike. She'd wake up soon. This couldn't be real. She didn't want it to be real. She dismounted her bike and ran into the agency, frantically unlocking the door and running in. Sherl was waiting for her. 

"Kat? Any sign of Ernest?" 

He stood up from where he was resting on the rug. Katrielle set the bag onto the table and ran off to grab her tape player. Once she came back with the device, Sherl was silent.

"Oh no..." he mumbled. 

Katrielle shuffled to put the tape in the player, finally getting it in with shaky hands and hitting play.

There was quiet muffled panting, only with a different voice. This voice was much more timid than Lucas's voice, much more gentle.

Please don't let it be him.

There was a sudden gasp, and clear panting.

"Talk." The woman's voice sounded.

"Miss Layton..." his breathy voice whimpered.

It was Ernest.

The woman not only chuckled, but laughed with innocent sounding glee. It was sickening to hear.

"Aww, the poor boy has been begging to see you, Miss Kitty Kat." The Matchmaker chortled. 

"Ernest Greeves. Your perfect little assistant. He does most everything for you, doesn't he? You just took and took. Now look where he is. I found him crying on his walk home. Oh, Miss Kitty Kat..." the woman sighed.

"What did you do to him? Now your lovely little helper is scared for his life because of you. You should have told him to stay at the agency with you, or at least walk him home. Oh, but you didn't care, did you?" The Matchmaker's voice was cold.

"Please, stop..." Ernest whispered, it was clear he was crying from his shuddering breaths. 

"Oh, and he's so intent on protecting your name, Miss Kitty Kat. He really is such a loyal little pup. You don't know what you're missing out on. So sweet, his voice. He can barely yell. He only yelps, cute puppy." She sounded excited.

"Listen." 

There was the sound of quiet footsteps before Ernest gasped in pain, following with a whine and a small yell, barely considered a scream.

"Such a gentle whine. Adorable, isn't he?" She giggled. There was the sound of quiet kissing as Ernest whispered his pleas for her to stop.

"No...nono...don't...please...please..!" 

Katrielle was shaking her head violently. 

"No..." she covered her mouth.

"I'm enjoying my time with him, so I'm going to give you more time to find me before I reduce this dog to ashes. You have forty-two hours, Miss Kitty Kat. Come save your baby."

The tape stopped.

Katrielle was hunched over the player as it ejected the tape. Sherl was wide-eyed at he glared at the table top.

Katrielle began to cry. Weakly, helplessly she sobbed. 

This was all her fault.


	3. The Prisoner in The Thames

Katrielle sat up in the dark main room, staring down at the tape in her hands. She turned it over a few times in her palms before she noticed what looked like a flat button on the side of it. She pressed down on it and the tape split in half, a small piece of paper falling out of it.

The tape, now unfixable as it was split, was set back onto the coffee table. Kat grabbed the paper and unfolded it.

_"There once was a beautiful goddess born on land, a brilliant magic at her hands. She gave and gave to those around her, yet people all around called her 'monster'._

_She worked and worked, gave her all, yet no good can be done when those who you thought loved you plan your downfall._

_She was cast into the cold, dark waters... and forever she stays, the drowning goddess."_

Sherl stared at the carpet, silent in thought as Kat read the note out loud.

"Is it a clue?" He spoke, tilting his head. Katrielle stayed quiet, her little grey cells being put to work.

"Monster..." she mumbled.

"Monster, monster..." Sherl pondered aloud as he paced back and fourth.

Katrielle gasped quietly.

The rare legend that a monster lived in the nearby waters sprang to her thoughts.

" _The monster of the thames_!" she snapped her fingers.

Sherl froze for a moment to turn and look at her.

"She must be keeping him somewhere near the thames!" Katrielle was wide eyed.

Without another word, the girl and dog ran out of the agency and to the bike. Lifting the basset hound into the basket and mounting the bike, Katrielle took off. They rode down the streets of London and soon arrived near the water.

"Shouldn't we be calling the police?" Sherl said as he carefully jumped out of the basket.

"The Matchmaker requests that only the significant other show up and no one else." Kat said.

"So that means I can't join you?" Sherl asked.

Katrielle sighed.

"I don't want to take any risks."

"Understandable. We don't know what she'll do to pinstripes if we don't meet her demands." Sherl nodded.

"Where do you think she might be?"

Kat looked over the boats on the water as her mind raced.

"Underwater."

Sherl scoffed. "You're joking."

"I'm not, Sherl. Assuming that she's the so-called 'Goddess' in the note, she must be underwater." Kat nodded.

"There might be a passage somewhere in the shallow water under the bridge. Help me look, Sherl." Kat said, taking her hat headband off and setting it in the basket of the bike.

As they got to the bottom of the bridge, they noticed a sign at the edge of the water.

**'NO CROSSING THIS POINT'**

"Oh, bother, of course there's someone watching." Sherl growled.

Indeed, there was a guard nearby, not noticing the two of them for the time being. Kat pondered for a moment.

"Sherl, can you play the role of a 'mad dog' convincingly enough?" She asked the hound.

Sherl grumbled. "I can scream and run around just fine. Why do you ask?"

"Distract that guard by barking and stealing his satchel. He'll chase after you. I'll look for any sign of The Matchmaker."

"And if I come back to find you're not here?"

"Assume that I found The Matchmaker and that I'm confronting her, or I've drowned."

_"That's a big jump between the two-!"_

"Just trust me and go, mad dog!" Kat snapped.

Sherl shook his head and mumbled a "Don't get yourself killed, Kat." before running off in a dramatic fit of barks and yells, grabbing the guard's satchel in his teeth and running off.

"Wha-? Hey, mutt! _Get back here!_ " The man yelled after him.

Kat smiled softly.

"Good dog." She whispered.

After a while of digging in the wet ground and kicking her wet feet around in the mud and sand, a small lever was found. The water was up to Kat's chin while she felt the lever with her shoe. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and dove under the cold water. She pulled at the lever and there was a sudden pull as she felt her body get sucked down a hidden passage. It was like going down a tight pipe as she squeezed her eyes shut in fear and held her breath, as her life quite literally depended on it. 

She was violently shot out the end of the pipe into a pool in a large dark room. She gasped in the dirty air as she got her bearings, working into a doggy paddle in the shallow pool.

"Kitty kitty, is that you?" The familiar woman's voice echoed all around the room. 

Kat looked around in an angry panic. Suddenly, there was the sound of electricity powering on as bright lights on the ceiling turned on.

"Oh, it is her! She did show up for her puppy after all! How brave." Her voice cooed. Kat swam to the nearest level of flooring and hoisted herself up onto the cold, metal floor.

"Welcome, Miss Kitty Kat!" The Matchmaker clapped her hands with glee over the speakers.

"I'm thrilled that you cared enough for your assistant to risk your own life. You could have drowned! You really, really do care! You hear that, Ernest?" She sounded thrilled.

Kat crouched down and coughed out the water that found its way into her lungs. Once she was done, she looked up and around. The room resembled a warehouse and smelled musty. Possibly a buried cargo ship? An evil lair The Matchmaker built herself?

"Wanna see him, Miss Kitty Kat? Look to the screens. The camera's all ready for him!"

Kat looked around until she noticed the large screen mounted on the wall. There was a bit of static as it turned on, until picture started to form. The footage revealed a dimly lit room, camera aimed to the ground with a helpless figure in the middle of the picture. The video quality wasn't too good but it was clear that that was Ernest in handcuffs, laying on his side.

"Ernest!" Katrielle cried.

Ernest's body jerked a bit as his eyes opened. He made a startled, yet hopeful little muffled sound.

"Aw, look at how he perks up when he hears your voice. He really loves you." The woman sighed.

"Kitty and Puppy. What a sweet pairing." There was a clicking sound as a pair of red high heels were seen stepping into the frame. A woman, who's face wasn't seen as she kneeled next to Ernest, was seen on screen. The Matchmaker.

The woman reached down and stroked Ernest's hair gently. From behind, it was seen that the woman had short, wavy black hair and a short, red dress that went off the shoulders.

Ernest shook his head as tears formed in his eyes, the cloth gag muffling any disagreements he could voice.

"You don't like that? Is it too much, sweetheart? So, so innocent." The Matchmaker purred mockingly as she pulled a bit at his hair.

Katrielle growled. "Stop that!" She yelled. "Just let him go!"

The woman chuckled.

"I don't want to! Not yet, anyway. I heard you like puzzles, Miss Kitty Kat. Daddy's girl, aren't you?" The woman spoke with venom and mockery.

"If you solve a few puzzles for me, I'll give him back. He'll be your prize. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

Kat felt sick.

"Here's how it'll work. Each time you get a puzzle right, you move on and your little puppy gets a reward. When you get a puzzle wrong, however." The woman sounded sickly amused as she pulled Ernest's hair violently and held his head up, earning a pained yip, followed by more tears from the poor boy.

"I'll do something he doesn't enjoy."

Katrielle swallowed as she stared at the poor, broken Ernest on the screen in front of her. She had to get him out.

"Fine. I'll play your game." Kat declared.

The woman turned to the camera, revealing her dimly lit face and her devilish grin. One could consider her pretty, but the dark, dark circles around her eyes with mascara running down her face and the messy, smudged lipstick smeared across her lips and chin made her beauty akin to a violent animal. She was terrifying.

"Perfect! Make your way to room number one." The Matchmaker squeaked happily.

Katrielle looked around and noticed the numbered doors. she stepped up a rickety metal staircase and walked to door number one. She pulled the latch and the heavy door opened with a loud, long squeak.


	4. Goner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter contains light sexual content that might be triggering for some. (Non consensual intimate affection, not too far. You think I can handle writing something like that?)
> 
> (I would like to make it clear that these puzzles are not original. They are copy and pasted from a riddle generator. I apologize for my lack of originality.)

Katrielle's footsteps clunked against the metal floor as the giant door closed behind her. Lights powered on and the room became clear. Big, empty and metal, with the gag-worthy smell of mold. The silver shine of the walls was only slightly noticeable under the rust that coated most of the room. 

"Room number one." The voice over the speakers announced.

A screen was activated, and the footage showed The Matchmaker sitting in a torn cushioned chair, Ernest in her lap. Ernest was frantically looking around, terror in his eyes.

"Miss Kitty, if you get this right, he loses the gag. If you get this wrong, however,"

The woman reached offscreen and pulled a tray to the chair arm. Setting it down, she grabbed a small knife off of it.

_"he loses his lips."_

Ernest make a choked sound as he stared at the sharp object, eyes wide and teary once more. Putting the knife to Ernest's cheek and lightly tracing his face with feathery touches, The Matchmaker teased.

"Wouldn't that just be devastating? He'd never get to kiss you, not without his sweet, plump lips. His chances of a first kiss would be gone forever."

Ernest breathlessly cried, a sight and sound that scooped out all of Katrielle's insides and left her pale and empty.

Katrielle held her stance and swallowed.

"What is the puzzle?" She asked. The Matchmaker lowered the knife and stroked Ernest's hair.

"Riddle me this, Kitty." She started.

_"'Of the king I am blue and of the peasant I am red. Of the frog I am cold and of the dog I am hot. What am I?'"_

As she finished, she grinned.

"You have forty seconds to answer, Miss Kitty."

Katrielle gasped silently and pulled at her hair, trying to get her panicked grey cells to function in real-time. She couldn't look at Ernest. She couldn't let him down. Suddenly, the answer clicked.

"Blood." Katrielle stood tall. Ernest seemed to sigh with relief, relaxing his shoulders a bit.

"Very good!" The Matchmaker set the knife down and clapped patronizingly.

She moved her hands to Ernest's cloth gag and undid the tight bow, the fabric going loose as Ernest gasped in the assumedly filthy air.

"What do you say to Kitty, Ernest?" The woman gripped his chin and he shuttered.

"Th-Thank you, Miss Kitty Kat." he hesitated to look at the camera as he flinched at The Matchmaker's touch.

Katrielle's heart broke. This madwoman was forcing this poor boy to take part in a sick and twisted romance story, making him quote pet names and forcing her own affections upon him. There was a clicking sound, and the next electronic door opened.

"Now, make your way to the next room."

—-

"Voiceless it cries and wingless it flutters, toothless it bites and mouthless it mutters. What is it?"

The Matchmaker grinned as she traced the small knife over Ernest's ring finger, threatening to take away any possibility of a traditional wedding ring resting on his hand any time in the future. Ernest's fingers twitched as she gripped his cuffed wrist behind his back as he laid on his stomach in her lap, his face forced against the chair arm as he quaked.

She kept up every riddle with innocent glee as she came up with more excruciating ways to punish Ernest for any wrong answer. This was riddle number eighteen, and only three riddles ago The Matchmaker proposed a challenge of luck. She brought in two glasses of wine and had told Katrielle that one of them was poisoned and another was safe. She made her guess which one was clean. Luckily, Katrielle had guessed correctly and the glass of wine was forced past Ernest's lips. Now, for the time being, he had a scared, dazed look on his face. Forcibly drunk.

"Eight seconds." The Matchmaker spoke in present time.

"The wind." Katrielle said flatly, trying not to show any fear for Ernest's sake.

"Correct." The Matchmaker huffed, looking disappointed.

"Your cleverness is getting boring." The woman sighed, before smiling and flipping Ernest onto his back. Ernest groaned and mumbled and shook his head weakly.

"Aw, are you dizzy? You've never had wine before, have you? Oh, of course! You're so young! Such strong wine is too much for you." She stroked his face and he looked to her hand, uneasy.

" _No..._ " he mumbled.

"'No'? No what, puppy?" The Matchmaker giggled, putting a finger to his lips.

Ernest grit his teeth, and with a drunken gnarl, bit the woman's finger.

The Matchmaker yelled and got her hand free. She caught her breath and then lost her innocent composure, snarling as she looked down at Ernest.

"You AWFUL little BITCH!" She screamed. 

The Matchmaker raised her hand in a fist and punched Ernest in the face. Ernest yelped and gritted his teeth as he felt the pain settle in, a red mark appearing on his cheek and his nose starting to bleed.

Katrielle hammered her hands on the nearby screen.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" Katrielle was teary eyed as she screamed.

Ernest started whimpering and crying, struggling as the woman gripped his hair.

"You do NOT bite. You hear me? If you try to fight me again, I'll smash your **FUCKING** head in!" She forced him to face her as she pulled his hair. Ernest sobbed with no control, tears streaming down his face. He was so, so scared.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" He cried out.

The Matchmaker glared down at Ernest, an empty look. She then pouted with false sympathy and loosened her grip.

"I'm sorry, puppy." She hugged him, now gently resting his head into her chest.

"I just can't let you be a bad boy. You're much too precious to be disobedient." She sighed as Ernest tried to calm his labored breathing.

"Here, I'll kiss it better." She purred, gripping his face gently and kissing his cheek as Ernest shivered, the woman planting kisses down his face, to his chin, to his neck. Katrielle gritted her teeth as she watched this horrible woman selfishly defile her assistant, sullying his skin with her red lipstick.

Katrielle covered her eyes, trying to give Ernest the respect he deserved by not watching. There was nothing she could do as of now. She crumbled as she heard Ernest's whimpers.

"Stop...please..." Ernest whined.

"I don't...like it..." he mumbled and choked.

The Matchmaker chuckled.

"You're such a cute crybaby."

As the torturous cries slowed and finally stopped, the metallic click of the door sounded and opened for Katrielle to move forward. Kat looked back to the screen. Ernest had his face buried in The Matchmaker's chest, his body quivering.

"Move forward, Kitty. Only a few rooms left."

Kat made her way into the next room with a rough exhale.

"Now, only three doors left. Even though your puppy was a bad boy, I'm going to leave the room and let him tell you the next three riddles! He'll get you all to himself." The Matchmaker stood up, Ernest in her arms. She set Ernest in the chair and walked offscreen.

"Have fun, you two."

There was the sound of a metal door opening and closing.

Ernest looked to the camera and, very weakly, forced a smile.

"Hi, Miss." he whispered.

Katrielle stepped closer to the screen and rested her hand on it, the closest she could get to touching his face, to comfort him.

"Hi, Ernest."

Ernest tried his best to adjust himself so he could sit upright in the chair.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Katrielle scoffed and rubbed her eyes.

"I should be asking you that, Ernest. You're the victim." She choked back her tears.

"I've made my thoughts clear, I think. My filter seems to be down from the alcohol." Ernest laughed little timidly.

"Oh goodness, Miss. That stuff has given me a massive headache. I don't think drinking is really for me." He chuckled.

Katrielle laughed softly, then melted into quiet crying.

"I'm sorry. Oh, Ernest... _I'm so sorry!_ " She breathed out.

"I did know. Oh goodness, Ernest. I knew. I teased, I acted oblivious, but I knew. I should have properly confronted you before playing all those games. I toyed with your emotions." Katrielle sobbed.

"I'm no better than _she_ is."

Ernest took a moment to think of what to say, stuttering his beginning breaths.

"I...tried to give you space. I didn't want to force myself on you. If I had properly confessed, maybe she wouldn't have..." he muttered.

"Maybe she wouldn't have seen something that wasn't there. A clear question, a clear answer, that would have been an obvious sign for her to leave us alone." He continued.

"You weren't playing games, Miss. You were being polite." He sniffled. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't take a hint."

Katrielle's eyes narrowed.

"'Took a hint'? What kind of hint? I..." she hesitated, then took a shivering breath in.

"I lo...liked you too, Ernest.”

Ernest sat silent for a moment before smiling softly. He huffed a bit.

"Oh." He mumbled.

Kat shook her head.  
  


"Sorry, sorry. I...I don't know how to say it here. I'm so...frazzled...right now."

Ernest let out a shuttering giggle.

"It's okay, Katrielle." He looked straight into the screen.

"I feel panicked myself. These definitely were not the conditions I wanted to confess under."

Katrielle laughed.

"Oh dear." She sighed.

"Shall we move on with the riddles, Miss? I'd really like to see you in person."

Kat sniffled and stood up straight.

"Yes. We shall."

Ernest nodded and thought for a moment, trying to remember the riddles he was told.

He cleared his throat.

"You heard me before, yet you hear me again, but then I die, until you call me again. What am I?"

Katrielle pondered for a good ten seconds before looking up.

A thought, a memory?

Ernest leaned over to the camera and quietly whispered.

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"It's an echo..!" He whispered very, very quietly, yet his voice echoed over the speaker.

Katrielle gasped.

" _Ernest-!_ "

"You _cheater._ " The Matchmaker's voice came from behind her.

"You _bloody_ cheater." The woman was in the dark of the doorway.

She pressed what looked to be a hidden button on the doorframe and turned away.

Kat panicked when she felt the floor underneath her shake, old rusty gears grinding in the room.

Ernest became frantic.

" _Wait, no! No, no no no! **MISS! MISS LAYTON!**_ " He struggled as he watched in horror as the floor slowly opened under Katrielle, a dark, seemingly endless pit waiting underneath for her as it did so.

Katrielle ran to the edge of the room in a panic, trying to find something to grab onto. Slowly, the reliable edges disappeared...and Katrielle fell into the pit with a scream.

Ernest's yells and cries boomed over the speakers.

**"MISS LAYTON!"**

His cries faded away as she fell deeper into the darkness.

Katrielle was falling to her death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh spaghetti-o’s


	5. Marinated in Poison and Lust

Katrielle groaned as she felt the soreness creep into every inch of her body. 

She was in agony, but she was certainly alive.

She inhaled sharply as she pulled herself up. Her feet writhed and slipped on the cold, wet floor at her first few attempts to stand, but she was able to drag herself to her knees and look around. She was in a large, dark room, akin to an open arena. Cold wind whistled from above her, making her shiver. She stood up and felt her feet slosh in the cold water that covered everywhere she could see. She noted how as she walked further toward one end, the water was deeper. She made her way to where the water was more shallow. Looking around, she noticed how the nearby walls were slightly chipped, and was more unnerved to see as she walked closer how water seemed to leak through the cracks. Could this room be deep under the water, with only a breaking metal wall protecting her from drowning?

She walked away from the walls and drew her attention to a nearby set of stairs that lead up to a valved door. She walked to them and was careful not to slip as she crept up them. With some effort, she was able to turn the valve and open the door.

She looked into a room nearly the size of a small walk-in closet. She felt around the walls and her fingers bumped into what felt like a light switch. She turned it on. A string of lights illuminated the dark, cramped room. To her surprise, the room was filled with paper crafts, newspapers, and letters. She stepped in and admired the lacy cutout streamers, snowflakes and chains of pretty little hearts. The newspapers were plastered all over the walls. The pages all consisted of the same story.

**_''Lady' of the night takes her life!'_ **

**_'Tragedy at the Thames! Prostitute commits suicide!'_ **

Katrielle looked over the details of the aging newspapers. The articles were around twelve years old. They entailed the story of a local prostitute named Eleanor Marie jumping into the Thames. None of the news stories covered why she took her life, and only one of the various papers provided photos of Eleanor. She looked to be a woman in her early twenties, with short black hair and a pretty, thin face.

She took to gazing at the little letters pinned up onto the wall. They were on gorgeous, expensive looking patterned paper, written in cursive.

_"To my Dearest, Ellie,_

_I'm writing to you to ask if you received the broach I sent you. If you did, do you like it? I felt the emeralds were the only thing that could match those hauntingly beautiful green eyes. Soon, my love, we will be living together. I'll buy a ring worth your beauty and I'll be able to call you my wife instead of telling people you are only a mere plaything to me. You are so, so much more to me than that. You deserve a much better love life._

_Sincerely, Louis."_

It seemed to be written with much care. On the surface, the notion of the letter seemed romantic, but something in Katrielle's gut told her that the only passion that emanated from it was a pure, dehumanizing lust.

Bringing her attention to a small pile of papers set on a small dresser, Kat shuffled through them. They were letters on regular parchment, and they were filled with so, so much hate.

_"Eleanor, you know as well as I do that you feel nothing for that man and he does not feel a thing for a whore like you. You are a fool like always. I'm ashamed to share the same mother as you. I shouldn't have to tell you that you're not worthy of a loving husband and God will not provide you with one. Once you recognize your worth, the world will be a better place. Take that as you will._

_-Beatrice"_

This seemed to be the only letter from a family member. Others seemed to be harassment from random people. Overly religious people calling Eleanor unspeakable things and telling her that she will burn in Hell. Lower than low men entailing how 'worthless' women like her should just offer their services for free, because 'no woman should be payed to do the only thing they're good for'. Every letter was sickening, as if the ink they were written was laced with poison.

At the bottom of the pile, there was another newspaper. It wasn't a front page story, just a casual feel-good page. It entailed a local wedding.

Katrielle's eyes widened as she looked over the article.

Ah, so that's how it was.

Katrielle set down the paper and dusted off her hands before clapping them together. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned around and left the little room.

Kat guessed she could search the large arena more thoroughly if she swam to the other side, so that is what she would do. She waded from the shallow water into the deep water before breaking into a doggy paddle. She tried to muscle through how excruciatingly cold the water was and was relieved when the water hat become shallow again. In the haze of the darkness, Kat could make out small lights. Buttons? As she stood up, she could make out the silhouette of some large, ceiling-high machinery.

_A lift!_

Her heart soared as she rushed to open the old rusty doors, only to groan when they would not budge. She looked around to see what she could make use of. She noticed an old rusty pipe barely staying above the water and she grabbed it. She was able to get the pipe between the doors and push, separating them with the ear-splitting sound of a metallic screech. She was able to squeeze inside. She felt around for a keypad and smiled when she found it. She clicked the dimly lit button for the top floor and was relieved to see the lift doors close. The lift shook, then ever so slowly, started to ascend.

Kat sighed as she slid to the floor of the lift and rested on her knees. She looked up with a determined grin as she spoke confidently.

"I'm coming to get you, Ernest."


	6. Dinner and Conversation

The Matchmaker hummed to herself as she drummed her fingers against the faded marble countertop, using her other hand to fish through a drawer. Long, red press on nails clicked against the glimmering object of her desire, and she lifted the small, silver lighter out of the drawer. She chirped in satisfaction as she closed the drawer with a swift bump of her hip, then made her way to the small dining table in the middle of the room. With a few clicks of a button, flames sparked to life in the lighter, and The Matchmaker lit the long, slender candles in the candelabras.

The dim light highlighted the most beautiful parts of the room. The Matchmaker's glistening jewelry, the faded mahogany of the table, the woven patterns of the tablecloth, the shimmering of the wine bottle and respective wine glasses...

Most beautiful of all, however, was the cold, dead look in her captive pet's eyes.

Ernest stared down at the table, unfazed by the clinking and clattering of glass against glass and the hypnotic sound of sweet and bitter alcohol dancing within the wine bottle. His wrists remained tied behind his back as he sat slumped in the creaking kitchen chair. His eyes looked dry, yet glazed over, unmoving as The Matchmaker could tell his mind was slowly to the point of shattering.

Oh, how she loved to toy with such vulnerable prey.

She slid a glass to Ernest's side of the table and sighed as she sat down in her own velvety, cushioned chair.

"So," she started.

"Miss Kitty failed you, as expected."

Ernest didn't look up, nor did he seem to acknowledge her.

"You lost the bet. It's sad, really. I like unpredictable odds, yet you young couples are the same story over and over again. Your relationships are dreadfully weak." She spoke with feigned sympathy, playing with her wine glass in her hand, watching the red drink circle and bounce in its prison.

Ernest exhaled through his nose. The Matchmaker knew that he was listening. Though he remained almost completely limp and unblinking, she hadn't killed him yet.

"So, Mr. Greeves, you have a choice from this point forward, and plenty of time to think it over." She spoke in a sultry tone of voice as wine splashed over the rim of the glass and dripped down her arm.

"End your life in the bleak hope that you'll be reunited in a beautiful eternity with your beloved kitty cat, making a rather silly gamble in the process...or,"

Her finger teasingly traced up the side of the glass, the wine trickling over her fingertip. She brought her finger to her lips and licked the wine off, slowly, teasingly.

_"Stay here with me, and let me show you something more beautiful than Heaven."_

Satisfaction took hold of The Matchmaker's insides when the boy's eyes darted up to give her a desperate and flaming look as his lips twitched, any attempts at responding dying in his throat and coming out in the most adorable sickened gasps.

"Why...more? Why would I want more of this?" He choked out, his head felt heavy, and his mind felt clouded.

"I want...to go! I want to leave this place! But...but I..." his voice quivered as he felt bile rise in his throat.

"There is no one to go home to. There is no home! There...there is nothing left!"

He let out a long, dreadful sob that melted into a pathetic scream.

_**"THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!"** _

He cried and cried, his mouth hanging open as the ugly and horrific sounds of his grief and hopelessness poured from his body.

It was simply _melodious._

The Matchmaker pursed her lips and got to her feet, the clicking of her heels resounding through the chamber they resided in as she walked to Ernest and kneeled by his side. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pet his hair with her free hand, silently basking in the euphoric sounds of his pain while playing the role of a mother consoling a crying child.

As his crying calmed down once more, The Matchmaker kissed the back of his head and the nape of his neck tenderly. He gritted his teeth and shuttered.

"Please...just end it. End it, end it, end it." He whispered in a pained, choked voice.

"You sound hoarse, dear. Have a drink." The Matchmaker cooed, lifting Ernest's glass up and pressing it to his lips.

Ernest avoided the glass with a turn of his head and stared up at the woman.

"I don't want to drink. I don't care anymore. You took everything from me. I can't live anymore. You make me sick."

The Matchmaker's expression went slack and cold when she smashed the glass against the top of Ernest's head, earning a pained yell from Ernest as crimson dripped from his hairline and down his face.

_"Talking shit to your only way out is a big mistake, pup."_ She growled in his ear.

Ernest looked at her with wide eyes as blood and wine ran down from his forehead to his chin.

"I don't think a young boy like you should be making decisions so quickly. I said I'd give you time. You should use it."

"Please...please just kill me! I know I won't change my mind! Please, Miss Matchmaker..."

The Matchmaker chuckled and tilted Ernest's chin up on the tip of her finger, the blood and alcohol blending in with the red of her nail.

"Men love a tease, Greeves. You'll learn to love me, too."

—

This lift was taking forever to reach the top level. It would occasionally slow to a crawl and even stop for minutes at a time. When it finally seemed to intentionally stop at the top floor, Katrielle stood up. She grunted and groaned as she pushed the lift doors apart, her palms scraping against rust and slipping from the slick wetness, the crowbar in her hands clanking and screeching against metal. As the doors finally opened, Katrielle stumbled out into the long hallway.

Something about this entire place seemed...oddly familiar. Not like she had been here before, but like the details of the scenery were explained to her a long time ago.

Katrielle coughed into her elbow as she breathed in the scent of rot and mold, dragging her crowbar behind her as her arm got numb from carrying it for the last couple of hours. She had to be closer to them by now. She felt it in her gut.

She noticed that the lair mostly consisted of large rooms and empty hallways, no matter what level. There were no side rooms, and any bit of decoration seemed to only include the occasional pinup poster and awkwardly placed piece of rotting furniture. Every level going higher and higher seemed colder and colder as the air from above became more prominent. Burnt out string lights seemed to accent certain walls as well.

She was getting closer to where the lair was the most 'lived in' in recent years.

Broken and bent water pipes jutted out from the sides of the walls, and every so often a resounding clang echoed from them. Katrielle swore she would hear the occasional faint cry flow from them. It sent chills down Kat’s back.

A stairwell came to view in front of Katrielle, its outline becoming clearer with every step she took in its direction. This set of stairs was not as rusty or as moldy as the lift was, and it was easier to step up them. Her free hand gripped the railing as she climbed.

Katrielle flinched when she heard a loud burst of static omit from the speakers attached to the ceiling, resounding and echoing throughout the halls. As the static calmed, an almost raspy voice hummed a slow, sad tune. Recovering from her initial shock, Kat continued treading forward. She took note of the voice’s mannerisms. It was definitely The Matchmaker’s voice, sounding delirious, jovial, and full of grief all at once. It was haunting, hearing such a distorted voice through such destroyed speakers.

_“Do you like that? I’m singing for you.”_

The Matchmaker spoke in a gentle voice, sounding like a doting mother talking down to her child.

A familiar weak _“Hm...”_ was the only response she could hear.

Kat tried to ignore the voices and gripped her chest as her heart broke further. She knew that weak, broken voice was her assistant.

The song continued as Kat finally reached the steel door at the top of the stairs. Her heart soared as hit opened without much difficulty.

The hallway beyond was much smaller and well furnished. The string lights were actually on and glimmering along the walls, and there was a lovely looking long crimson carpet on the floor, though it was damp and a tad squishy as Kat walked onto it.

The sound of humming was cut off as the speakers assumedly were deactivated. As Kat continued down the hallway, her heart jumped as she realized light was coming out from underneath the door ahead, and shadows flickered and danced within it.

Someone was on the other side of that door. She knew who was there, because beyond that quaint wood, she could hear the muffled, delirious tune from before.

Kat held her breath as her hand went over the doorknob.

This was it.

This was the beginning of the end of all of this.

She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the short chapter...but good news! The next chapter will be the end! (Along with an epilogue, of course.)


	7. Heaven’s Light

The room she peered into as the door opened, Kat thought, was rather cozy looking, albeit a bit dingy like the rest of the rooms and halls she had explored. While there was furniture ranging from good quality to obviously scavenged goods, there were also bits and pieces of...ship decor. This included a dirty lifesaver and boat paddles on the wall.

She watched as The Matchmaker hummed as if in a trance while she danced around in circles, bumping into scattered furniture and giggling more and more with each hiccup. She held an empty wine glass in her hand and swung it around carelessly as she moved around. The look of glee on her face was undeniable, and very off-putting.

Kat stood there, crowbar at the ready, with her chest puffed out and teeth gritted. She was about to announce her arrival before

"Tsk tsk, Kitty. You look so angry. Ah, well. I won't let your persistence put me in a sour mood."

The woman twirled in place in front of a stray vanity mirror as she checked her smudged eyeliner and puckered her red lips into a pout.

"I suppose you're here for your puppy. Your strength is admirable. I expected your lungs to be filled with water by now, but you steadily dragged yourself back to us."

Kat tensed her shoulders and took a deep breath as she steadied herself, looking The Matchmaker up and down.

"Where is he?" She asked simply, wanting to get to the point quickly.

The Matchmaker bit her lip and looked to the ceiling with such blissful playfulness.

"Somewhere. A place. With walls, and maybe a floor. Really, Kitty, do you think I'd want to tell you?"

"I'd think you'd want to play your game by the rules, _Eleanor_." Kat replied with bitter intonation.

The Matchmaker pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, looking pleasantly surprised.

"Aha! I see you spent some time snooping. That's disappointing. I was expecting all those letters to be completely submerged by now..." The woman tapped the rim of the empty wine glass against her cheek and sighed, dipping herself down in her red cushioned settee.

"It would have been beautifully poetic, having all those memories washed away in the flood...but I suppose mother nature is a tease, just as any competent woman would be."

She grinned and looked to Kat.

"I assume you know more about me, now. How much time did you waste digging up dirt on me? Was it really that important to you, playing the sleuth while your beloved little mutt grieved your supposed death? My, Miss Kitty. I know you wear your selfishness on your sleeve, but could you really be so heartless?"

Kat sucked her teeth and walked closer to the drunk woman, footsteps creaking on the broken floorboards.

"You speak of heartlessness as though you've never laid a finger on Ernest the way you have."

Katrielle stopped in front of the settee and stood tall, preparing herself to knock the woman out with a swing of a pipe, but she did not make any attempt to attack. She still didn't know where Ernest was, and she relied on The Matchmaker's answer.

"Darling," The Matchmaker tittered, straightening up ever so slightly to put her hand to Katrielle's cheek.

"I put a _lot_ of heart into my work!"

Kat shook her hand off with disgust.

"You're pathetic and sick. You hear me? _Sick!_ " Kat snapped as she stepped back.

"I'm tired of the same epithets over and over again. You're not the first person to call me 'sick', and I doubt you'll be the last. If you're gonna go down, you could at least go down with memorable dialogue." The Matchmaker's voice deepened in tone as she slumped back down with a bored expression.

"You need no new labels, Eleanor. Anyone can plainly see that you're a monster. It's obvious that's where you've planted yourself."

"But you did your homework, kitty! You dug up so much juicy history. Lay it on me. Give me your worst." The woman tilted her head towards Kat, her emerald eyes glimmering and wide, looking dead and excited all at once.

"Go on. Call me a whore. A slut. A bitch. Make me want to die again and again."

The ghost of a smile graced her ruby red lips.

"I'll come back every time and show you how you kids are just as as weak as your weakest insults."

"It's tragic, the position you've found yourself in. But you are responsible for everything you've done since you jumped into the thames." Kat responded, unswayed by the woman's haunting gaze. She fished in her pocket and pulled out a newspaper clipping she had kept from her early search.

The clipping entailed the marriage between Louis Abbott and Adelaide Eve. One would not be able to properly discern the people in the wedding photo, as the faces seemed to be feverishly scratched off the paper.

"You found out your boyfriend proposed to another woman when he promised to marry you."

The Matchmaker scoffed.

"Ah. You found a souvenir."

"Heartbroken," Kat continued. " you attempted suicide. You leaped into the thames with a box full of love letters and threats and let the water take you, but a miracle saved you. You were pulled into a secret passage under the water, and you were brought here." Kat twirled in place, motioning around the room.

"A lair, a fortress, you weren't sure what it was, but it was a safe haven. You were still scarred and broken and unable to face the world, so you lived in secret for some years. You decorated with scavenged treasures and junk." Kat turned her back on The Matchmaker as she looked over the ripped and torn pinup girl posters haphazardly plastered all over the walls.

"You were alone with your thoughts, and the only thing you did was wallow in your pain and misery. You became vengeful. You-"

"Oh _no,_ I'll have to stop you there, Katrielle. I'm enjoying you telling me about my past, but you're awfully biased."

Katrielle turned to see that The Matchmaker had quickly stood up.

"No, I did not become 'vengeful'. I became wiser. I had time to look deep inside myself and ask 'how could love feel so real, yet be a complete sham in the end?' I had time to realize how shallow love really had become. A man could say that he would die for his beloved, but is he just speaking to impress? To sound heroic? Would he willingly die for his wife and children, or would he fight for his life so he can live for them? Which of those ideas is the most heroic, Kitty?"

The Matchmaker stepped towards Kat and stood beside her, looking at the posters.

"The issue doesn't solely rest with prideful men, however. It also is the fault of delusional women who work too hard for love. Love always will be work, mind you, but I've come to discover it is a fool's errand to chase for it and weep when you lose it. It all becomes a rather tiring and useless loop that will always come out baron in the end."

The woman was staring into space as she spoke, as if she was reciting a theory that she had mentally rehearsed again and again. Her hand gently rested against a poster of a blonde woman surrounded with roses and chocolate.

"But I came to a conclusion that seemed to satisfy all of my contradicting theories and questions. The truth about love is..."

Ruby red fingernails scratched the poster, and a quick ripping tear was heard as she dug her nails into the printed paper and dragged her hand down, the horrid loud sound of ripping suddenly shooting through the room, akin to the sound of a gunshot.

" _It. Is. **Torture**_ **.** There is no coherent answer for these complicated messes of emotions and tangled ideologies forced down our throats in our day to day lives. We are told that we simply cannot be whole without love. Poets and songwriters sing their stupid fiction, and don't know that they are spreading glorified lies. And oh, how I believed those lies. I flinch and squirm thinking that I believed such a lie. I believed that I was useless because my mother and sister were never satisfied with me. I believed I was invaluable because my boyfriend moved on too quickly. I would have died believing that I was powerless to the hatred that everyone had fired towards me."

The more she spoke, the more intense The Matchmaker's scratching and tearing became deafening as she ripped the poster apart, the woman in the photo looking distorted and mangled as pieces of her composition were torn away, leaving her a twisted and jagged mess. She lowered her head as she slowed her violent defacing.

"In the end..." she spoke in a broken and gravely voice as she ripped the destroyed poster from the wall.

"Love is rare. Everyone blindly claims to be a valuable cog in the machine of their perceived relationships, when in reality, most people can live without it."

She let the paper slip past her fingers and flutter to the floor.

"I hate that I'm one of the rare people who can't live without love. It is truly a lonely existence."

With wandering, dead eyes, The Matchmaker grinned and looked to the ceiling.

"But I know things now, Kitty. I know how to help people wake up to see their follies and truly think about their loyalty and dedication to their partners." She grabbed Katrielle's shoulder, and Kat responded with a surprised jolt as she tried to swing her pipe at the woman, but The Matchmaker caught it before the girl could even gain enough momentum for a good hit. She pulled the pipe from Kat's hands.

"And I must say, Kat, you do seem loyal to your assistant. You do seem to care for him." The woman put her weight onto Kat's shoulders and shoved her down to the floor, sitting between her legs and shoving the long side of the pipe against her throat, effectively pinning her down and applying enough pressure to make Kat struggle for air.

"But God, I do NOT like you one bit. I don't think you're cut out for love, and you're not fit for Ernest at all. You're just trying to get him back because you're stubborn and self-righteous!"

Kat gagged, then smirked.

"Miss Matchmaker, you are the spitting image of a lowlife hypocrite."

The Matchmaker scoffed in offense and strengthened her tension in defense, pushing against Kat's throat harder, causing Kat to cry out and roll her eyes back as the pressure seemed to come in waves of pain and numbness as she fought to breathe.

"Don't try to sound smart, _Pussy_." The woman growled.

Though she grimaced in pain, Kat's labored chuckle still shone through gritted teeth.

"Keep...talking yourself into a hole..." Kat started.

Kat bucked her hips up against The Matchmakers arms and latched her legs over her shoulders, sudden pressure causing the tall woman's left arm to make a loud cracking noise as her shoulder was dislocated. She screamed and let go of the pole to grip her shoulder in agony.

Kat reared back and kicked the woman in the chest, snatching the pipe from her and standing up. She stomped on the woman's neck to keep her down.

"-But either way, Ernest will be coming home safe, and I won't let you keep him to yourself just so you can try to fill that endless void in your heart that you've willingly created." Kat finished, pointing the edge of the pipe to the woman's head, threatening to bring it down and crush her skull.

"Where. Is. He?" Katrielle demanded with venom in her voice.

The Matchmaker looked up at her with pained eyes, tears streaming down her face. She ultimately succumbed and slumped over in defeat with an exhausted groan.

"Turn the valve. I crammed the poor boy into the room above."

Kat turned to look at the large valve the woman motioned towards, and saw that it was, indeed, connected to sealed doors on the ceiling. Katrielle nodded to the woman, then raised the pipe overhead and slammed it down on the woman's head. The Matchmaker was out cold in an instant.

Kat dropped the pipe and hopped up on the nearby settee to gain access to the valve on the ceiling, then got to work turning it with all her might.

What happened next made Kat's heart fall into the pit of her stomach.

A loud bang sounded out from behind her, as water suddenly began flooding the small room. The Matchmaker had lied. What was above them was not another room after all. It was an opening to the deep water of the thames. Kat yelled and desperately tried to close the doors, but the valve would not budge from the pressure of weighted water pouring in through the gaping crack. The ceiling began to slowly crumble as the water seeped through rotting metal. Kat jumped to the floor and rushed to the nearby opposite door, swinging it open in desperation to exit the room. Water splashed behind her as she ran out into the unfamiliar hallway. Lake water soaked the carpeting as Kat frantically rushed in the darkness, her body running on adrenaline and panic. She bumped her wandering hand upon a doorknob against the wall and opened the door to peer into the room. Nothing. Nobody. Completely empty. She found another door across from the first. Same thing. Nothing.

Where was he?

A realization hit her that made her choke.

What if The Matchmaker...didn't lie at all? What if she had disposed of Ernest by throwing out of the lair into the Thames and drowning him?

Kat's knees went weak, and a loud gasp left her lips.

"No...no, no, no, no, no, no."

He could be dead.

"NO, NO, NO!" Kat yelled.

" **ERNEST! ERNEST!** " She screamed on top of her lungs, over the deafening sound of the lair flooding. Tears were streaming down her face against her will. She sobbed and screamed her assistant's name, hoping, praying for a response.

...

Within the hell of the flood, a crying voice answered.

" **MISS LAYTON**?"

Kat's heart soared.

"ERNEST!" She stood straight, unsteady and slipping on the soaked carpet.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I'm here, I'm here!"

She could her him far across the hall, muffled. She ran to his voice, then swung open the door he was behind with shaky hands.

The room was cramped and dark, assumedly a closet, with only a single flickering lamp lighting it. There, wrists tied against a rusted pole, was Ernest.

They looked at each other, then Kat felt herself fall onto him, hugging him tight.

Ernest couldn't even speak properly, his face contorting to a mix between relief and fear as he cried loudly. Katrielle's name lined his lips as he processed that she really, truly was there. This wasn't a dream. She was alive.

Kat untied his wrists, and the boy fell to his knees and hugged her torso, his face buried in her stomach.

"You're here! Oh, you're here! You came back!"

"We don't have time! We have to leave! Get up!" Kat rushed her warnings as she pulled him up by the shoulders.

Ernest's breath hitched as he grit his teeth in agony.

"Miss- **AGHH-!!** " He cried out as he almost tumbled forward.

Kat looked down at him in shock.

"What, what's wrong?! What happened?!" She gasped as she kneeled in front of him, supporting his shoulders so he wouldn't crumble further to the floor.

"Shh...she broke my ankles..." Ernest sobbed.

He looked up at her with pained eyes.

"I...I can't walk...!"

Kat felt sick, but immediately got to work grabbing him under the arm and lifting it over her shoulders, forcing him to stand. Ernest silently screamed in pain as weight inevitably went back on his ankles.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but we have to move quickly if we want to make it out alive! Please, bear with me!" Kat said frantically as she dragged him out of the room and out into the hall, the water up to their shins already. Ernest bit his tongue and nodded, signing his cooperation without being able to properly speak.

As they made their way to the room where the massive leak resides, Kat set Ernest on a nearby heavy cushioned chair that sat just above the water. She rushed to the door where she originally came through to confront The Matchmaker, only to find it was jammed shut. She noticed that more water leaked out from under the door, then realized that the ceiling must have collapsed on the other side, the flood keeping the door closed. Kat groaned and looked around, then saw the lifesaver and boat paddles that still hung firmly on the wall. She ran to them and pulled them off, then rushed back to Ernest's side.

"Lift your arms up." She commanded. Ernest quickly did so, and Kat slid the large lifesaver onto him, stopping at his hips.

"Alright, listen to me." Kat began, holding his face.

"This is going to be very hard, but we have to wait for the room to fill up with water, then we're going to go to the opening and let the lifesaver float up to the surface of the lake with you in it."

Ernest looked up and down Kat's face.

"I know it sounds asinine, but it's the only thing we can try now." She sighed.

"Are you going to fit into this?" Ernest questioned.

"Y-You're coming with me, right?!"

Kat remained silent. Ernest leaned forward and gripped her shoulders, his voice shaking.

"Miss, please! You'll come with me, or I won't go!"

"Both of us won't be able to fit in that thing, Ernest."

"Then you can hang on to the side!"

"Then the weight won't be evenly distributed. The whole thing would float upside down, and with your injuries you wouldn't be able to hold on. It's too much of a risk."

"I'm not going! I-I won-!"

Ernest was interrupted with a kiss on the lips from Katrielle. He paused his ranting, then leaned into the kiss. Katrielle drew back after a moment and stroked her assistant's face.

"I'll try to swim up to you."

Ernest sniffled as he leaned into her touch.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Ernest nodded, then tried on a smile.

"I'll go..."

Kat grinned.

"That's wonderful to hear."

Kat curled up next to Ernest and hugged him close, before heaving him off the chair to float in the chest high water. He hissed as his limp legs weakly floated, his ankles still in agony. As he looked down to the water, Ernest gasped when he saw a woman floating face down, her red dress waving and washing in the flood.

" _Oh my God! She's-!_ " He shook his head as he instinctually tried to paddle away with his arms.

"Oh...Oh, Ernest." Kat mumbled as she hugged him and turned him away so he couldn't properly see The Matchmaker's body.

"Don't look. Just don't look."

She kissed his forehead and held him close.

"This is what she planned for herself."

Ernest panted heavily in panic, his heart beating in his throat, but he still melted in Kat's arms.

Soon, the water was nearly to the rotted ceiling. Kat was able to maneuver Ernest in the lifesaver just under the opening, water pouring over both of them. Ernest held her hand tightly.

"You'll follow me up to the surface?"

"I promise, I will."

With a sincere mutual nod, Ernest and Katrielle took in a deep breath as the water rose to their chins, then they were completely submerged. Ernest, with his eyes squeezed shut, was pushed out of the opening, and cast out into the warbling, muffled dark abyss of the lake. Kat squeezed her eyes shut as she paddled to the best of her ability, kicking her legs and flailing her arms with indecisive preciseness.

Katrielle never had learned to swim. She thought about how sad that was as she felt her arms become weak against the swaying and swirling blindness that felt like a weight and a cloud all at once as she became weaker.

She didn't remember blacking out and going limp in the water, but when her blue eyes fluttered open, she was on a cold wooden deck, specks of light spotting through her blurred vision like drops of rain. She coughed and sputtered as water forced its way out of her lungs, her chest being pumped up and down by someone she couldn't see.

"Hey, hey! The lady's 'openin her eyes!" An unfamiliar voice called out.

She wasn't strong enough to hang onto reality, and right before she slipped back into another bout of unconsciousness, she felt a shaky hand grip her's desperately, and she heard a weak voice whisper her name.

Though the body that huddled next to her felt just as cold as the thames they had escaped, Katrielle felt a glimmer of warmth in her chest as she blacked out again.

—-

"So you're the ones that found the two of 'em?"

Kat was awake and aware enough to recognize Inspector Hastings' voice across the hall as she laid still in her hospital bed.

"Yessir. We were 'fishin when the green haired bloke popped outta the water. When we pulled 'im up, all he yelled about was that Lady Layton not 'bein there. Thank heavens my son spotted the girl just underneath the surface of the water by our boat." A rough voice replied.

"Yeah. Thank heavens indeed. Alright, you lot are free to go now."

"Send those kids my best regards, alright? Can't imagine what they were 'doin out there!"

After a moment of mentally processing what she had just listened to, Kat shifted her weight to her back to straighten up in bed, then mumbled as she collected her thoughts.

"Ah, I think she's awake!" A woman called out from across the room. Kat peered to her direction. It was Hastings' wife, Felicity, sitting politely in a chair against the wall.

Hastings walked to Kat's bedside and cautiously spoke.

"Kat?"

"Hmmn...?" Kat could only muster a proper questioning tone of voice for an answer.

"Your assistant explained as much as he was able to. We were able to uncover where he was kept."

"Mm hm..." Kat mumbled.

"We were able to uncover that lair under the thames. We have reason to believe that the hideout was none other than a hidden alternate passage to the abandoned underground London from that decades old terrorist case."

Ah. That's why that place felt nostalgic in a sense. Kat's father or Uncle Luke probably recounted that adventure to her years ago...

She sat up in silence.

"We uncovered the body of a woman. We assume that's...?"

"The...Matchmaker, yes. She...tricked me into helping her commit suicide. I think she intended to drown herself along with me and...."

As reality set in, Kat felt a jolt of panic rush through her body.

"Ernest!" Kat kicked her blankets off and tried to hop out of bed.

"Where's Ernest?!"

The inspector stuttered in surprise before grabbing the frantic girl's arm.

"Hey, hey! Sunshine's alright! Kat, you both need rest! You can't just get up and run around like that! You almost died!"

"No, no, I don't care! Get off! Wh-where is he?! I need to see him! Now!" Kat stumbled as she pulled away. Felicity rushed to her side and gently put her arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, he's a few rooms over."

"Wha-? Lemon, you can't just-!" Hastings reached out to stop them, but Felicity snapped back with the subtle aggression of any protective mother.

"Just let the girl see him and get some peace, Ercule!" The woman hissed. She turned back to Kat and gently lead her out of the room, down the hallway. Kat tripped and stumbled in her hospital gown as she navigated the unfamiliar hospital with the older woman, passing concerned looking nurses in the hustle and bustle of their jobs. They happened upon a white and clean room, where Ernest sat limp in bed with dazed eyes.

Kat pulled away from Felicity and stumbled towards the bed, throwing her arms around her assistant in a hug. Ernest, though he was groggy from the pain medication, squeezed her tight and buried his face into her shoulder.

For that one moment, though the traumatizing terror was not forgotten, everything felt warm. They melted into each other and basked in newfound comfort.

They had both been through hell, now they were safe in the surface world together.

They would not be separated.

_It was a match made in Heaven._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god FINALLY it’s OVER and i can write the EPILOGUE AND IT WILL BE COMFORTING


	8. Epilogue

Ernest's memories seemed to be an uncontrollable fire.

Any subtle image, smell, or sound could ignite a spark, and the red flickering flames would rage through his body, out of his throat and eyes.

He would yelp at any unexpected physical affection. He had felt that woman's hot breath against his neck when he was in his bed, as he fought in that horrific area that laid between sleep and awareness.

Though it had been three years since the initial incident, the delusions and paranoia never slept.

He knew that The Matchmaker was dead, yet in his every waking moments, he was prepared for when she would return to take him away and shelter him from the world and use him as her plaything.

He once woke up to his own hands gripping Katrielle's wrists until his knuckles were white. His own yells and her weeps had snapped him out of his stupor. Katrielle looked up at him with terrified and sad eyes, her pupils were pinpricks. Bruises were forming on her cheek.

Ernest stifled a horrified gasp back and shuttered at the very sight of his girlfriend looking up at him with such sad eyes. It was like he had woken from a nightmare. Katrielle immediately straightened up in their shared bed and scooted her back against the headboard, cowering at Ernest as she breathed heavily.

"Kat, I-I'm sorry! What..." Ernest was breathless as his thoughts battled with common sense. He didn't know if he should comfort her, or stay as far away from her as possible so he wouldn't further her fear and stress.

He backed against their closet, then slid his back down until he was sitting on the floor.

" _What did I do_?" He asked in a small voice.

Kat caught her breath, looking Ernest up and down and swallowing hard.

"I...I think while we were asleep, I might have touched your back or hugged you or something." She did her best to explain with a clear head and gentle tone.

"You started screaming and thrashing your arms and legs. When I tried to calm you down, you start to hit me while crying."

Ernest buried his face into his knees and ran his hands through his messy hair.

"I...don't remember that. I hurt you again..."

This had not been the first time that Ernest had an episode like this. Though it was very rare, sometimes Ernest would black out and wake up somewhere completely different, only to have loved ones explain to him that he had lost an entire day to his fear and panic taking control of his body.

"I think it lasted about twenty seconds before you gained awareness. You...you really didn't hurt me that bad!"

Kat went to stand up, but Ernest scrambled up and ran to the bathroom, wetting a washcloth with cold water and bringing it to Kat. He handed it to her and she put it over the bruising on her cheek. Ernest sat at the foot of the bed and fidgeted with the blanket in his quivering hand.

"We can't keep living together. It's not safe for either of us. I...I'm getting worse."

"That's not true," Kat cut in. "you haven't done this sort of thing for a little over a year now."

"I don't mean blacking out. I just mean...I'm...I'm never going to be the way I used to be, Kat. You know that, right?"

Tears welled up in his eyes.

"You've been so kind and charitable like you always have been, but..." he wiped his eyes and grit his teeth.

Through these years of him suffering, Kat had stayed by his side. She stayed through the night terrors, she helped him when he was addicted to his prescribed pain medication, and she loved and supported him through the hell that was the withdrawal.

"I can't be that helpful assistant for you anymore. I've been nothing but a burden, and it's never going to get better."

Katrielle took a deep breath as she drew the cloth away from her face and folded it in her lap. She sighed.

"Well, you're right about one thing." She started.

"You're not my _assistant_ anymore. Ernest..."

She held out her hand towards him, giving him an invitation to reach out and grasp her's at his own accord. He shyly did and looked up into her eyes as she gripped his hand tightly.

"...you're my _world_. You mean everything to me, and I will not leave you so you can suffer alone."

She spread out her arms, giving him further invitation to let her hug him, and he lunged forward and squeezed her middle, burying his face into her stomach. He cried freely as she pet his hair.

" _I love you, Ernest_." Katrielle whispered assuringly as she gently cradled her love in her arms.

Though the flame of painful memories still flickered within Ernest, being with Katrielle made such blinding light dim down into comfortably warm embers.

He was hers, she was his. They belonged together in those times of pain and uncertainty.

The subtle passions and comfort that came with being together made every trouble melt into the background.

Their love was _truly_ real.


End file.
